Faring with Finances Starts with Goal-Setting

By Scott Beckett

(The first in a series of articles exploring financial affairs)

The Ontario Council for Disabled Persons’ June 1990 study entitled Workable: Fulfilling the Potential of People with Disabilities begins with the following quote:

"Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, record of offenses, marital status, family status or handicap." (Some may recognize this as being from Section 4 of the Ontario Human Rights Code.)

The report focuses on many things, but its fundamental message is that everyone has an equal right to job opportunities and realization of their employment potential. For Ontario (and the rest of Canada), achieving this goal is extremely important for many compelling and pragmatic reasons. As we work toward this, it is important that everyone who benefits and is working has the tools, or at least the means, to manage their financial affairs. Achieving employment and financial independence is one thing; knowing how to handle money is another.

So we come to the purpose of this series of articles: talking about and answering questions related to money matters, with a focus on the needs of people with disabilities and their partners in life.

"YOU CAN’T GET SOMEWHERE IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU ARE GOING"
I could probably write an entire article listing all those people quoted as saying something similar to the above. But the fact remains that one must assess the current situation, and then determine what is hoped for in the future. Without planning, we seldom achieve more than would have been accomplished if things were left to chance. Goal setting is critical, so this first article is devoted to the subject.

GOAL SETTING
People frequently have strong feelings when they begin to plan and write their goals. The feeling is usually resistance -- an unwillingness to do something, even when they know they want to do it and the end result will be positive.

We resist setting life goals for two reasons. In my opinion, and very generally speaking, Canadians naturally take a passive, low-risk view of life. We are rarely encouraged through society or public education to develop specific plans to accommodate the future. Secondly, we resist setting goals because doing so reminds us of the many plans we haven’t met and the aspirations we haven’t yet realized. In this case, we may experience feelings of sadness or fear.

It is important to remember that it is not the goals which are causing these feelings. Rather, the feelings have always been there, blocking us from achieving what we want. Stay with the feelings, work through them, choose your goals anyway -- and begin to achieve them all.

Once we have an idea of what we want, our subconscious and conscious minds can work together to achieve these things. When writing your goals, remember to:
- Start with the longest time period and move back into the present. Write your yearly goals first, then six-month goals, then three-month goals.
- See yourself accomplishing your goals. Write them as though they have already occurred.
- Distinguish between goals and what you will actually do to accomplish these goals. A goal is an end result. On the other hand, what we do to accomplish a goal could be an extremely enjoyable activity.
- Make all your goals very specific and concrete. Do not write "I now make more money," but "I now make $30,000 per year."
- Remember that goals are not always more and bigger. They may be simply enjoying what you already have!

SOME IMPORTANT AREAS FOR GOAL-SETTING
- Career
- Earnings
- Assets, possessions
- Education, skills, knowledge
- Spirituality
- Personal relationships
- Family relationships
- Health and weight
- Free time or play
- Travel
- Home or apartment
- Transportation

The importance of goal-setting cannot be overemphasized. Knowing what you want is the key to getting it. The greatest investment we can make in ourselves and our financial future is time spent planning.

In the next article, we will explore some fundamental principles of long-term planning. Making money is one thing, but understanding how it works is another.

Future articles will continue this theme, concentrating on the basic mechanics of wealth creation and exposing the odd myth about getting rich quick.

(Scott Beckett is the Associate Director of Disability Market Development, PPI Financial Group in Toronto.)